Review: Kayden Keller vs. Richie Douglas (BGEast)

Now that I know who Richie Douglas is, I decided I'd try another match. The Calvin/Richie match is the only one I'm interested in from the latest catalogue, so it's actually a perfect chance to look backwards. Of all the options, the most appealing was his recent match against lanky heel Kayden Keller.

So far, I've enjoyed Keller's Spotlight. Both the one-sided assault Carter Alexander’s exquisite abs and the dominant performance against feisty jobber Kirk Donahue were winners in my book. Can this make for a rare trifecta?

Can Richie Douglas steal Kayden's Spotlight?

This time, Richie Douglas is in the ring in blue speedos and white amateur boots. I applaud the simple gear choice. It suits him better than gold go-go boy shorts and is appropriate for the ring. His tightly muscled body is primed for battle as he stretches out. Once again, Richie is quietly confident, not intimidated by his opponent's overwhelming presence.

Kayden Keller shows up in classic black squarecuts, another good gear choice. Long and lean, he towers over his cute little opponent. No wonder he's full of arrogance, sneering at this adorable wannabe they've matched him up with. I'm sure it feels like BGEast is just feeding him an easy win over a prettyboy.

Richie's ripped and ready to rassle.

The heel shows off the babyface.

Richie's not the only one on display.

With the stage set, you could see this being a total squash. Or maybe not. Richie was tough the first time I watched him and wasn't nominated for Top Jobber. Of course, holding your own with a beefy bottom boy like Calvin is different than an established heel like Kayden. As it turns out, the guy is competitive with the bigger heel, too. In fact, he gives Kayden more of a match than either of his previous Spotlight opponents.

Kayden starts out dominant, getting a couple of quick submissions. However, he manages to skillfully turn the tables, getting his own victories. I can see why Richie was in the running for Babyface and not jobber. I don't believe that losing makes you a jobber. It's how you lose. The cute stud fights hard and could win the whole thing.

One of my faves, the tear drop.

Richie's a babyface, not a jobber.

Kayden brings out the big guns.

Action-wise, this was the winner for Best Submission. And there are a multiple ones. Each wrestler gets a couple before the third act where one man takes over. There's a piledriver, which seems to be appearing more and more in gay-oriented wrestling. I guess I'm not the only one who appreciates the move. There's a lot of punishment going both ways, all well-executed. I pulled about 16 images before narrowing them down to these ten.

The ending is abrupt. No loving body shots. No posing. Just one final move, a count then fade to black. I had to re-run the VOD, because I assumed that it froze, but nope. It's not a problem, just unusual. You'd think that the cameraman would climb in and pan up and down the loser’s body while the winner savors a hard-fought victory.

As long as Richie can keep Kayden down,
he's got a good chance.

Kayden's used to being in control.

Richie's just full of surprises. 

In the end, I really enjoyed Kayden vs. Richie. Both guys pull their weight. The twist with a capable and competitive Richie is a good one. Kayden’s a good seller and seeing his arrogance punished is rewarding. This was a better outing to appreciate Richie than his romp with Calvin. He is a lot more memorable now, with a can-do attitude and a ton more skill. I likely won't look at his back catalogue, but I'll notice him moving forward.

So that's my take. What's yours?

Alex